Last month The Independent published a special feature, "Art of Africa: the 50 greatest cultural figures shaping a continent." The great Senegalese musician Baaba Maal served on the panel deciding the lineup and contributed an accompanying piece on artistic endeavours on the continent. I particularly enjoyed some of the things he had to say about music:

"In Podor in Senegal, the place where I grew up, everyone is an artist because art in Africa is not a commercial enterprise but is part of life itself.

Let me explain. When I was young, I used to watch the fishermen by the banks of the Senegal river. They were working close to the desert in intense heat, and whenever they stopped working they would start to sing. In Podor, people sing naturally about their experiences, their lives and their relationships. It is not just musicians and singers who perform. Everybody has a part to play - even children are allowed to join in if they have the inspiration. It doesn't matter if your voice is not the finest; everyone is involved.

Musicians are respected, but only in the context that the music itself belongs to the community - not to the person who is playing an instrument or singing a song. Those instruments have been developed over many years, while the songs themselves are inspired by the people as a whole rather than by any individual."

This concept of communal ownership over many aspects of living is fairly common throughout the continent and it is interesting to hear it expressed here with regard to music. Maal himself is a gifted musician and great live performer. He has a well-designed and informative website with music to listen to while you're reading it. If you are in the UK at the time, he will be playing WOMAD in July.

The "Top 50" list itself is varied and interesting and drew my attention to individuals I had never heard of, particularly in the fields of architecture and fashion. For the full list and the Maal piece click here. In summary, the writers chosen are:

Oga Steve Abah, Playwright (Nigeria)
Chinua Achebe, Author (Nigeria)
Ama Ata Aidoo, Playwright (Ghana)
Ayi Kwei Armah, Author (Ghana)
Biyi Bandele, Author (Nigeria)
Lueen Conning, Playwright (South Africa)
Tsitsi Dangarembga, Author (Zimbabwe)
Athol Fugard, Playwright (South Africa)
Delia Jarrett-Macauley, Author (Sierra Leone)
Ousmane Sembene, Film-maker (Senegal)
Wole Soyinka, Dramatist, Novelist, Poet (Nigeria)
Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Author (Kenya)
Binyavanga Wainaina, Author (Kenya)

A curious selection and, as always, dominated by men. Having said that, most of them deserve to be represented here. I am surprised to find J.M. Coetzee missing. Ama Ata Aidoo is also an author, Biyi Bandele a prolific playwright, Tsitsi Dangarembga primarily a film-maker, and Ousmane Sembene an author. So the description given to Soyinka as "dramatist, novelist, poet" could really be assigned to most of them, which is precisely why they are so influential as writers and do deserve to be here.

Of course, it is easy to find fault with any list but I must say I am miffed by the exclusion of a writer I consider to be a great shining star - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I do feel that the British slant of the judges let them down here. Delia Jarrett-Macauley is a wonderful writer and well-deserved the Orwell Prize for MOSES, CITIZEN & ME, but if I am going to be a pedant, she is British of Sierra Leonean descent. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is Nigerian and lives in Nigeria. I would have to exclude Jarrett-Macauley on the grounds that she is British. I am a real fan of Jarrett-Macauley and happen to think she will continue to produce great work in the future and is certainly a writer to watch, but I think she herself would be surprised to find her name on this list. Any thoughts?

It is one of those blustery, wet english days. The line of trees beyond our back hedge and across the bridle path roars in the wind. That, and the foxes screaming the night before, make it seem an adventure to be living here. I am so glad to be inside in the warmth, looking out at the wildness.

It was off to London again for me on Wednesday - the first session of my new Tamil for Beginners class at SOAS, the University of London. My aim is to speak a sentence or two to the giri's grandmother when we next meet, as at the moment we can't say a word to each other. Our current mode of communication is beaming enthusiastically! Tamil has an entirely different alphabet and script (extremely beautiful), with 247 new letters to learn. Let's just say that I'm glad of the inclement weather forcing me to stay in and practice wobbly, curling attempts at writing.

Arriving at Charing Cross station with two hours to spare before class, I dashed around with a shopping list for a dinner we're hosting this weekend. First stop was the delicious Neal's Yard Dairy. This is an extraordinary place for all but vegans. Great, curving wheels of cheese stack up as far as the building will allow, and the staff will let you taste just about anything. Not sure what you want, but know what you're thinking about? They are only too happy to discuss menus and make suggestions. I was on a mission for Irish cheeses, and it is the only place I know where Gabriel, Coolea and the like are readily available. Gabriel, what a name - makes me think of the archangel and Handel's halleluja chorus! And by the way, it is really good hard cheese.

My next culinary stop was at the droolsome Rococo Chocolates. This place is seriously dangerous to your health. I recommend broken chocolate and artisan bars - their chilli pepper chocolate is incredible: dark, bitter sweet and mild but with a lethal kickback.

Rushing to campus, I swept briefly into Stern's, definitely the best in town for global, and especially African, music. They have a funky caf attached these days. Although I was ostensibly gift buying Amadou & Mariam's DIMANCHE A BAMAKO, I couldn't resist buying something for me too. The Stern's site lets you listen to samples of every track before you buy. On DIMANCHE A BAMAKO I recommend you start with track 3, Coulibaly - guaranteed to get toes tapping. Amadou & Mariam are both blind - they met and began singing together at a school for the blind in Mali decades ago. For myself I bought Ali Farka Toure's SAVANE, a far more reflective blues-based album, produced after his death earlier this year. I have previously blogged about him, so won't repeat myself here. Try track 4, Savane to see what all the fuss is about with regard to his skill at the guitar.

I'll have to get out my raingear - it is still howling and miserable out there, but I have a dinner party to cook for and the local farmers' market calls. . .

To take my mind off lazy, fat, marauding kitties who wait under trees for baby birds to fall out of them (not even bothering to climb the tree!), I watched the most superb film this afternoon: je chanterai pour toi/I'll sing for you a film by Jacques Sarasin, subtitled Boubacar Traore walks through memories of love in Mali. Meetings with Ali Farka Toure, Malik Sidibe, Mamadou Sangare, Madieye Niang,... It is extraordinary, beautiful, and if you are like me it will make you cry - not because the story is unusual but because it is universal in the scope of his music.

Last year Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diabate's album In the Heart of the Moon was my favourite of the whole year. Every time I played it in the shop we sold out. Everyone bought it, including people who had never bought an "African" or "World Music" album before. Ry Cooder (who gathered the Buena Vista Social Club from Cuba together) made a date with the two of them at the Hotel Mande in Bamako. They arrived, they played - no rehearsals - and the result is at the same time spare and full, luminous. The entire album is guitar and kora, with very occasional vocals from Farka Toure. They won a grammy and toured; the dates in London didn't quite suit us and we thought "next time". Ali Farka Toure died in March this year - there won't be a next time.

je chanterai pour toi follows Boubacar Traore (also known as KarKar) visiting old haunts in Mali after many years in exile. The footage is amazing, interweaving film clips from the independence period in the early sixties, photos by the master photographer Malik Sidibe, interviews with friends and contemporaries and all held together by footage of the return trip to Mali, with Traore playing solo or with other artists en route.

The film opens with Traore playing his guitar (he has an endearing way of cradling it as though it were a lover, with his head resting on it):

When you talk to each other,
don't forget to invoke the name of God.
And if you love God,
don't forget to invoke His Messenger.
That's what the prophet said,
the prophet Mohammed.

Let us open wide to others,
the doors of our homes,
because death spares no one,
not even the powerful.

That's what my brother Kalilou said.

That's what my wife Pierette said.

I open wide the door of my home to you
because death spares no one,
not even the powerful.

If death should spare someone because he is powerful,
if death should spare someone because he is well known,
then my brother Kalilou
would never have left this world
And my darling Pierrette
never would have left this world.
(translation and words from the film)

There is a fascinating discussion of religion at one point, overlaying footage of one of Mali's mosques built in mud. I found it resonating strongly with ancestor worship in southern Africa, the worship of the amadlozi. After a section on Bambara fetishism and Traore's involvement, Mamadou Sangare narrating says:

There are two aspects to KarKar's spiritual life. On the one hand there is this really strong belief in the supernatural, mysticism, etc. and on the other, there's Islam, which restrains certain fervours and behaviour. Islam taught him to renounce vengeance, Islam showed him how to be tolerant. Islam showed him how to accept the people who abandoned him. Thanks to Islam he was able to accept Pierrette's death...

Also an interesting comment when placed in the context of some current views on Islam in the "war against terror"!

The best place for African music and related paraphenalia is Stern's Music. They sell copies of this DVD which are all zones compatible, and there is a seperate CD of the music from the film also available (same title), with downloadable samples of tracks online. I hasten to add that they also have a huge sale until September 1st! I know, I know, I sound like an advertisement for them, but they are truly nice people and what they do is a labour of love.

I've learned my lesson with Ali Farka Toure - when Boubacar Traore is next in town I'll be the first to buy tickets.